By Tim Sullivan

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

The Wolverines have a long football history, so it’s only natural that some of their players over the years have siblings or even sons that have gone on to wear the winged helmet. The Wistert brothers (Francis 1930-33, Albert 1938-42, and Alvin 1947-49) had their No. 11 jersey retired — though it has since been unretired and is now worn by defensive back Courtney Avery. Former Wolverines Dave Dever and John Wangler have sons — walk-on wide receivers Bo and Jack, respectively — on this year’s team.

In recruiting, there are several prospects nationally with family connections to U-M that should draw serious interest from the Wolverines. That includes a small handful of underclassman prospects with brothers currently on the team. Grand Blanc quarterback/athlete Trevon Avery (2015) is Courtney’s younger brother, 2016 Detroit Cass Tech defensive back LaVert Hill’s (2016) older brother, Delano, is a freshman defensive back, Ann Arbor Huron quarterback Joshua Jackson (2016) is the younger brother of senior wideout Jeremy (and the son of running backs coach Fred Jackson), and even Orchard Lake St. Mary’s linebacker Joshua Ross (2017) has a brother, James, who is a sophomore at his position.

The father-son connection is important as well. Detroit King 2015 linebacker Tyriq Thompson’s father, Clarence, was a Wolverine in the mid 90s and Hartland 2016 tight end Nathan Skene’s father, Doug, played on the U-M offensive line in the early part of that decade.

While none of those prospects have yet received offers, a couple of Michigan’s current commitments have family connections, too. Warren De La Salle senior linebacker Jared Wangler is the son of John and younger brother of Jack. Philadelphia St. Joseph’s Prep offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. shares a name with his father — a star in the mid 90s.

While a family connection is not a guarantee that a given prospect will end up in the Maize and Blue — former Wolverine basketball player Paul Heuerman has sons playing tight end at Notre Dame (Mike) and Ohio State (Jeff). However, that link to the rich tradition in Ann Arbor can help U-M’s chances to land a prospect. It’s also a clear advantage when it comes to early identification of talent.

Tim Sullivan is the Football Recruiting Editor of The Wolverine magazine and TheWolverine.com. He is also a contributor to national football recruiting coverage on the Rivals.com network. You can follow him on Twitter @TimS_Wolverine.